Thursday, January 28, 2010

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Regardless of where you live in the U.S., now is a good time to curl up with a quality seed catalog and dream and plan, then order. As I tell my gardening students, if I had to choose just one seed catalog, it would be Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds based in Missouri. Begun by an idealistic young man named Jere Gettle when he was just seventeen years old, this wonderfully eclectic seed offering is the result of his impassioned touring of the U.S. and the planet, scouring open air fruit markets, seed houses, private family seed collections and more, then growing the seeds commercially for distribution to gardeners and farmers. Each category is astonishing in its breadth...into tomatoes? Brace yourself?! Into squash and pumpkins? You'll be amazed. Live in the deep South and live the various Vigna "beans"? His selection is remarkable. Into melons or okra or eggplant? Same thing....OODLES of varieties. He sells NO GMO monstrosities by the ethically vacuous Monsanto or anyone else, just open-pollinated, non-F1 hybrid seeds that in some cases have been grown for centuries in their culture of origin.

The prices and seed amounts are very fair, and I am certain that if you have not seen their catalog or ordered from these good folks, you will be as enthusiastic a supporter as I am once you do! I occasionally pen an article for their charming magazine 'Heirloom Gardener', which is well worth a subscription to also.